Six Nations 2013: appeal ruling means Ireland's Cian Healy is free to play against France in next match

Prop Cian Healy will be available to face France in Ireland’s next Six Nations
match after winning an appeal against the timing of his ban.

Reprieve: Cian Healy will be able to play for Ireland against France after winning an appeal over the timing of his banPhoto: ACTION IMAGES

By Alasdair Reid

10:25PM GMT 27 Feb 2013

Healy was suspended for three weeks for stamping on Dan Cole during the loss to England but the ban was spread over four weeks, effectively only beginning on Feb 17.

Healy argued it should have lasted for three weeks starting on the date of the incident, Feb 10. On Wednesday he won his appeal.

Six Nations organisers said in a statement: “The player had argued, among other things, that by extending the three-week suspension over four weekends (to take account of the first break weekend in the Six Nations) was not permissible under the relevant regulations.

“The independent disciplinary appeal committee upheld the appeal."

The Leinster forward’s ban will now expire at midnight on March 3, enabling him to play against the French at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on March 9.

The original suspension period was set because the disciplinary committee determined Healy was unlikely to play in Leinster’s match against Treviso on February 16, which was a free weekend in the championship.

They therefore felt that to truly serve a three-week ban, the RaboDirect PRO12 game should not be included in the period of punishment.

News of his eligibility will give coach Declan Kidney a lift after two defeats in the opening three matches of the championship.

Healy tweeted: “Appeal successful, 3week suspension will finish on 3rd march, so now available for selection v France. Very happy with this.”

One player who certainly was not happy on Wednesday was Edinburgh and Scotland centre Nick De Luca, whose already miserable season was brought to an end when he was given a 13-week ban for a dangerous tackle on Ospreys’ Tom Grabham in last Friday’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash at the Liberty Stadium.

The offence, which occurred four minutes from the end of a match which the Ospreys won 24-7, earned a straight red card and was deemed to be at the more serious end of the spectrum by the three-man disciplinary panel which met in Dublin.

De Luca, who won the last of his 38 caps in Scotland’s loss to Tonga last November, and subsequently suffered a serious facial injury, will be free to play from May 27, effectively meaning he will play no more domestic rugby this season. It also suggests he will not take part in Scotland’s summer trip to South Africa, where they will play in a one-off tournament alongside Samoa, Italy and the Springboks, as he will have no chance to gain match fitness before the trip.

De Luca has the right of appeal, but video evidence, freely available on the internet, appears conclusive as the the Edinburgh centre made no obvious attempt to return Grabham safely to the ground, as he is obliged to do by rugby’s laws, after lifting the Ospreys player off his feet.